The present invention relates to an in-home or indoor slide for transporting handicapped persons between floors over steps or for children to enjoy.
Slides for children are generally found outdoors in schoolyards and playgrounds. As is well known, children find slides to be a fun filled activity. Unfortunately, such slides can only be used when the weather outside is favorable.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a slide apparatus that can be used indoors for a variety of purposes. Various devices have been developed for sliding down stairways. Some of these are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,813,663; 5,197,924; 5,427,574; and U.S. Design Pat. No. 362,291.
There are also numerous patents on outdoor slides as well as non-entertainment slides such as inflatable evacuation slides for use with, for example, aircraft.
Although the above listed patents provide constructions which in theory are usable indoors to provide a slide, the problem with these devices is that they must remain in place on the stairway when not in use or, if they are removable, they present a very large and heavy construction that is difficult to move and store conveniently and quickly.